Paterno makes his case with Cavs' star

Friday

Jan 25, 2008 at 12:10 AMJan 25, 2008 at 12:15 AM

It's been a busy week for Corey Lewis.

JOE MIEGOC

It's been a busy week for Corey Lewis.

After taking an official visit to Virginia over the weekend and hosting the Cavaliers' coaching staff at school Wednesday, the East Stroudsburg South left tackle took an official visit to Penn State on Thursday.

Lewis was hosted by freshman defensive end Devon Still and had dinner with offensive line coach Dick Anderson. Oh yeah, he also had a one-on-one meeting with Penn State head coach Joe Paterno at Paterno's home.

"It was an honor," Lewis said. "I just sat there in silence sometimes. I got to hear about his personal life, I got to talk to him and his wife (Sue)."

Lewis, who verbally committed to Virginia last summer, took the visit during the week because the Cavalier basketball team, which he starts for at forward, plays at Pocono Mountain West tonight and at Nazareth on Saturday.

Taking two official visits in less than a week gave the 6-foot-7, 290-pound Lewis, who was a Class AAAA All-State first-team selection, a lot to consider.

"I have to sit down and write things down and lay things out," Lewis said. "The facilities, the area, the people, all that factors in. This is a big decision that's going to affect the next four years of my life, my entire life."

During his meeting with Paterno, Lewis got to hear what the 81-year-old legend, who is second among major college coaches with 381 victories, thought about his play.

"He said I do a lot of things well," Lewis said. "He sees a lot of potential in me and thinks I could be great in time."

During his visit at Virginia, Lewis was hosted by freshman linebacker J'Courtney Williams, who he played with at Christchurch High School in Virginia. Lewis, who is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., played his first two years of high school at Christchurch before transferring to Eastburg South as a junior. The visit to Virginia was Lewis' first official visit after taking numerous unofficial visits there.

"It was good for the most part," Lewis said. "I like the coaches and the players there."

Lewis said he most likely will visit Illinois next week and let the coaches from each school know his decision late next week. He'll announce publicly which school he's going to attend on national letter-of-intent day on Feb. 6.

"I just wanted to be able to compare," Lewis said. "I want to make an informed decision."